Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Wind Power: Scotland

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the development of (a) Dounreay TrÍ, (b) Forthwind and (c) Kincardine offshore wind projects on the (i) the UK and (ii) Scottish economy.

Claire Perry: The potential effect on the UK and Scottish economy would depend upon a number of factors including the size of the projects, their individual procurement plans and the levels of local content achieved. For example, it has been reported that equipment and components for certain elements of these projects could be sourced from a range of locations, including Europe and the Far East. Whilst floating offshore wind is still at a relatively early stage of development, it could have a role in the long-term decarbonisation and contribute to our Industrial Strategy, if it can demonstrate that it can bring down costs and compete with other forms of low carbon generation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2018 to Question 131059, on Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Scotland, what the (a) job titles and (b) grades of those staff members based in Scotland are.

Richard Harrington: For core BEIS the grades range from Administration Office (AO) to Senior Civil Servant.The ratios per grade for core BEIS staff are set out in the table below  Grade% of staff @ gradeAO-EO30%HEO-SEO59%G7-G610%SCS1%  Job titles are not held centrally as these are a matter for business areas to determine. For BEIS Partner Organisations, staff grades and job titles are both a matter for those Organisations to determine. This information is not held centrally.

Industry: Heating

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he expects to launch the Industrial Heat Recovery Support Programme.

Claire Perry: The Government expects to launch the Industrial Heat Recovery Support Programme (IHRS) in summer 2018.

Environment Protection

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in which week it is planned to hold Green Great Britain week.

Claire Perry: Green Great Britain Week will be a week of high profile activity designed to engage business, investors and the wider public on the opportunities provided by clean growth and the importance of tackling climate change and improving air quality as well as celebrating UK leadership. The week is currently planned for October 2018 and we will confirm the date shortly.

Carbon Capture and Storage: International Cooperation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on organising the 2018 International Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage event.

Claire Perry: As part of the Government’s new approach to carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS), we are committed to working internationally with industry and governments to drive down the cost and accelerate deployment of CCUS. Our plans to host an international CCUS conference in 2018, to support this work, are ongoing and we will confirm the details for the conference shortly.

Coal: Imports

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that imported coal has been mined (a) using best practice health and safety procedures and (b) in accordance with human rights principles; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 27 March 2018



Our policies are reducing our reliance on coal, including our announcement that we will end electricity generation from unabated coal by 2025. The UK is able to source its coal imports from a wide range of countries and we would expect producers in source countries to abide by local health and safety laws and international human rights laws. As a founding member of the global Powering Past Coal Alliance, the UK is committed to leading by example in this area and is taking action both at home and abroad to reduce reliance on coal. We have not been made aware of any evidence of suppliers of coal to the UK being in breach of these laws. In the first instance enforcement would be for the relevant Governmental authority but if the Hon Member has specific evidence we would encourage him to share it with officials.

Energy: Prices

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to bring forward legislative proposals on an energy price cap by next winter.

Claire Perry: The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill was introduced on 23 February 2018 and is currently progressing through the House. Information about the Bill is available at https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-8242Ofgem have published an initial working paper on the design of the cap with the aim of implementing it by end of year. The working paper is available at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/default-tariff-cap-working-paper-setting-level-cap

Fracking: South East

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to protect Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks and other protected areas from environmental damage from shale oil drilling in the South East of England.

Claire Perry: National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and The Broads have the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty and the National Planning Policy Framework states that planning permission should be refused for major development, except in exceptional circumstances and where it can be demonstrated that it is in the public interest. In addition, National Planning Policy is clear that the relevant planning authorities have the power to assess and restrict the cumulative effects of any potential developments, including any adverse impacts on the natural or historical environment. The Government continues to hold the view that these protections are sufficient.

Fracking: Employment

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2018 to Question 131951, whether his Department has recently reviewed the estimate for the number of jobs that fracking could result in at peak published in the report by Ernst and Young, part-funded by his Department, entitled Getting ready for UK shale gas, published in April 2014; and if she will make a statement.

Claire Perry: The Department has not recently reviewed the estimate, as set out in the report by Ernst and Young, for the numbers of jobs that could be created by the UK shale gas industry.

Fracking

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the most recent estimate is of the number of fracking wells that will be in place by 2025.

Claire Perry: Based on information provided by industry dating from 2016, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy previously estimated in 2017 that there could be around 155 wells by 2025. These figures are now considered to be out of date. The Government will continue to monitor progress of the shale gas industry and will revise its estimates as appropriate as the industry develops.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Palestinians: Radicalism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132437, whether the culture of honouring people as martyrs within Palestinian society contributes to regional tensions and extremism and retards progress towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Alistair Burt: The glorification of terrorists as "martyrs" is a barrier to peace. It is important the Palestinian leadership continue efforts to implement fully the recommendations of the Quartet Report regarding incitement. But we are encouraged by President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority's track record, which shows a commitment to non-violence and a negotiated two-state solution. We have a regular dialogue with both the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence, including by promoting a more positive portrayal of each other.

Islamic State: Sexual Offences

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Iraq and (b) the Kurdistan Regional Government on protection and support for victims of sexual violence by Daesh.

Alistair Burt: ​​We raise the protection needs of the victims of Daesh atrocities with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government regularly. We have made clear, through our Embassy in Baghdad and our Consulate General in Erbil, the importance of protecting civilians and of Iraq's meeting its human rights responsibilities, which includes ensuring the rule of law. We welcome the commitments of Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi to investigate all allegations of human rights abuses and violations, including those committed against minorities, and to hold those responsible to account.In March, the Minister for the Commonwealth and UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited Iraq including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Minister launched the UK's Fourth National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and encouraged efforts to hold Daesh to account for its crimes, build support for survivors of sexual violence and, end the stigma attached to victims of those crimes.

Department for Education

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether its is planned to measure and report on the progress of schools against the Gatsby Foundation’s eight benchmarks for good careers advice.

Anne Milton: The Careers & Enterprise Company recently published its ‘State of the Nation 2017’ research paper which is available at www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/sites/default/files/uploaded/careers-enterprise-compass-state-of-the-nation.pdf. The paper, which was published in conjunction with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, showed that 51% of schools had met two or more Gatsby benchmarks. Over 79% of schools met one or more benchmark. These figures are based on the secondary schools that took part in the self-assessment exercise. The Careers & Enterprise Company will publish this report annually to show what progress schools have made in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks. As the Minister responsible for careers, I will have regular and frequent meetings with stakeholders to make sure progress continues.

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of looked after children who were reported missing from their placement by (a) placement type, (b) placement provider, (c) distance from placing authority in the last 5 years for which figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi: Information on the number of missing incidents of looked after children in each of the last three years by their placement type has been published in Table G1 of the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2016 to 2017’ at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.Information on the number of missing incidents of looked after children by provider and the distance from the placing authority are provided in the attached table. In 2016/17, missing incidents were reported for 10,700 children, some of whom will have multiple missing incidents.This information was collected for the first time in 2014-15 and so figures for earlier years are not available.These statistics are experimental statistics based on data collected for the first time in 2015 and should be treated with caution as local councils’ recording of this information is improving over time. The figures are therefore not comparable between years and any assessment of trends should take this into account. The information provided does not mean that the number of children going missing is increasing in the volumes indicated in the table.Local councils have improved their reporting of missing incidents through increased collaboration with partner organisations and carers, updated recording systems, and further training for carers to improve understanding of reporting processes.



Children looked after who were missing 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.51 KB)

GCSE

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for new GCSE qualifications have been received by Ofqual in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Official Hospitality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money his Department has spent on hospitality in each of the last five years.

Guto Bebb: The amount spent on hospitality is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

GKN: Melrose

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations the Government has received from the F-35 Joint Program Office on the proposed takeover of GKN by Melrose.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence was contacted by the F-35 Joint Program Office on the proposed takeover of GKN by Melrose in January 2018.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Mental Illness

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124308, on Personal Independence Payment: Mental Health, when she plans for the administrative review of the 1.6 million personal independence claims to be completed.

Sarah Newton: I refer the Hon. Member to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document and Dear Colleague letter that the Secretary of State has laid in the House Library.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horses: Databases

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans for the Central Equine Database to be operational.

George Eustice: The Central Equine Database was launched on 8 March.

Home Office

Money Laundering: Prosecutions

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many corporate prosecutions there have been for money laundering under s327 of the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002.

Mr Ben Wallace: No businesses were proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for this offence from 2012 to 2016. More than 6600 individuals have been convicted of money laundering offences in the same period. The Financial Conduct Authority has levied a number of fines against banks which have failed to implement proper anti-money laundering controls.

Proceeds of Crime

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to reduce the amount of suspicious wealth owned by people resident in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The UK has a robust legal and regulatory framework which enables effective investigation and prosecution of money laundering, corruption and the recovery of illicit assets. This Government has recovered more criminal assets than ever before. Using Proceeds of Crime Act powers, £1.4bn was taken from offenders between April 2010 and March 2017, with many hundreds of millions more frozen.Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) were introduced on 31 January 2018. UWOs are an important addition to existing investigation powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and compel individuals to explain the sources of their wealth where it is suspected that their lawful income would be insufficient to obtain specified property and they are a non-EEA politically exposed person or suspected of being involved in serious crime.The National Crime Agency has secured two UWOs to investigate assets totalling £22m that are believed to ultimately be owned by a politically-exposed person. The assets have also been frozen.The Home Office has established a suspicious activity report (SARs) Reform Programme, working with reporters, law enforcement and regulators, to design an effective regime that can make the UK an even more hostile place to move, use or hide illicit finances.

Department for Exiting the European Union

US-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has met with the US-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council to discuss border templates in the past twelve months.

Suella Braverman: The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has not met with the US-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council. Departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK. These can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=transparency-data&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=department-for-exiting-the-european-union&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B%5D=all&from_date=&to_date= As well as ministerial meetings, departmental officials meet external organisations on a regular and ongoing basis.

Martin Selmayr

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if the Government will make an assessment of whether the appointment of Professor Dr Martin Selmayr as Secretary General of the European Commission was done through professional and fair recruitment and selection procedures.

Suella Braverman: Appointments to the European Commission civil service are an internal matter for the Commission.

Property: EU Countries

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of exiting the EU on UK citizens with properties in one of the 27 remaining EU Member States.

Suella Braverman: The property rights of UK nationals that own property in an EU Member State and vice versa is not a matter that fell within the scope of the first stage of the negotiations with the EU. It is already the case that all Member States are bound by Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights which obliges them to respect property rights. We expect that these rights will continue to be respected after our exit.

Treasury

Financial Services

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to contribute to the debate arising from the Financial Conduct Authority's discussion paper, Transforming culture in Financial Services, published on 12 March 2018.

John Glen: The Government welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent discussion paper, ‘Transforming Culture in Financial Services’. The Government has implemented a number of reforms since the financial crisis to improve conduct and encourage a more positive culture in the financial services sector, including through the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. The Government will continue to engage with the financial regulators and industry to progress this important issue, including to consider the views raised in this discussion paper.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Public Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department spent on (a) art, (b) wine and (c) hospitality in each of the last seven financial years for which figures are available.

Michael Ellis: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 02 February 2018.The correct answer should have been:

Figures for hospitality can be found in the table below. Wine is not purchased independently but included within catering expenditure on hospitality. It is not possible to identify the cost of wine within amounts paid and accrued for hospitality catering. Financial YrHospitalityCateringH&C201718 YTD23,017 23,400 46,417 2016/1710,130 42,068 52,199 2015/16-3,415 13,059 9,644 2014/1535,860 54,432 117,145   2013/143,816 14,920 18,735 2012/1317,980 37,475 55,455 2011/1239,788 31,527 71,315 2010/1140,573 1,371 41,943 Total167,749 218,251  386,000 Financial YrHospitalityCateringH&C201718 YTD2301723400 46,417 2016/171013042068 52,198 2015/16-341513059 9,644 2014/156271254432 117,144 2013/14381614920 18,736 2012/131798037475 55,455 2011/123978831527 71,315 2010/11405721371 41,943Total 194,600  218,252  412,852   We do not hold figures for spending on art, separate from the Government Art Collection

Michael Ellis: Figures for hospitality can be found in the table below. Wine is not purchased independently but included within catering expenditure on hospitality. It is not possible to identify the cost of wine within amounts paid and accrued for hospitality catering. Financial YrHospitalityCateringH&C201718 YTD23,017 23,400 46,417 2016/1710,130 42,068 52,199 2015/16-3,415 13,059 9,644 2014/1535,860 54,432 117,145   2013/143,816 14,920 18,735 2012/1317,980 37,475 55,455 2011/1239,788 31,527 71,315 2010/1140,573 1,371 41,943 Total167,749 218,251  386,000 Financial YrHospitalityCateringH&C201718 YTD2301723400 46,417 2016/171013042068 52,198 2015/16-341513059 9,644 2014/156271254432 117,144 2013/14381614920 18,736 2012/131798037475 55,455 2011/123978831527 71,315 2010/11405721371 41,943Total 194,600  218,252  412,852   We do not hold figures for spending on art, separate from the Government Art Collection

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Official Hospitality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much money his Department has spent on hospitality in each of the last five years.

Margot James: Hospitality figures for each of the last five financial years have been provided in the table below.   2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18£16,994.41£35,859.68-£2,954.15£19,280.11£31,786.37The figure for 2015-16 is a negative figure due to the reversal of an over accrual from 2014-15.